Follow
by DetectiveLion
Summary: It should be known by now that Danny Fenton can never catch a break-so perhaps he should have expected that a series of simultaneous ghost attacks would be the start of a much larger plot. This time, he and his friends weren't the only ones in danger. (Rewritten version of Unknown Demense)


Fighting ghosts was considerably more fun when you had an enormous green dog on your side.

Danny whooped as he watched Cujo sink his teeth into the metal of Skulker's arm and tear it free. The metal skidded across the road, sending up sparks while Skulker stumbled and clutched at the socket. The majority of his arsenal laid on the road in scraps, and there was little Skulker could do but fall beneath the paws of the massive dog. Green saliva dribbled down its maw, a low growl rumbling in warning up until Danny called, "Alright, boy, heel!"

And that was all it took for Cujo to step back, form shrinking down as he planted his butt on the asphalt and wagged his tail. It only took a second for Danny to suck Skulker into the thermos. He capped it and let it hang from his belt as he crouched down to give the dog a praising scratch behind the ears. "Good boy," he cooed.

Behind him, he could hear the footsteps of his friends. Both Sam and Tucker were grinning at him when he looked back, a sheen of triumph on their faces. "Nice job, dude," Tucker said. "That's record time."

"Tell me about it," Danny laughed. "Did you see his face when he realized the dog's on my side?" Then his expression soured a bit. "Wish I'd given him a few extra kicks, though. I hope he didn't have Cujo long." The dog didn't seem perturbed, though, perfectly content to start gnawing on Danny's boot. His paws were clamped over the shoe, small growls sounding as he tried to get his jaws around it.

"I guess he didn't know. Maybe next time he'll think twice before sticking an animal in a cage-even ghost animals." Sam smirked. She held a small pistol in her hands, a glowing bar on the side indicating it was still fully charged with ecto-energy-a tribute to just how easy the night's patrol had gone. Then she turned to Danny, raising a brow. "Is that all of them?"

Danny nodded. "I think so," he answered, his shoulders loosening. He lifted the thermos and gave it a small shake. "Just gotta get these guys where they belong."

The ever-lit FentonWorks sign cast a dim glow over the street as Danny and his friends settled down. He scooped up Cujo, giving a small laugh as the dog licked his face. "Be back in a minute," he said, before phasing through the ground. He stayed true to his words, as his parents were not on the lookout for Danny Fenton that night, past curfew or not. They'd turned in to bed already with the belief that their son wouldn't be back until the next evening. Nothing stopped him from slipping into the lab, plugging the thermos in and releasing its contents back into the Ghost Zone.

It was with a twinge of regret that he looked back to the small dog in his arms. "Go home, buddy," he said.

Cujo gave him one last bark before wriggling free of the ghost boy's grip and zipping through the portal on his own.

Only seconds later, Danny drifted back up to the street, enjoying their slight jump when he snapped to visibility. "Ready for one more trip?" He greeted, spreading his arms. It was with Sam and Tucker on either side of him that he lifted into the air.

"And you're sure your parents won't be back?" Tucker asked. The question wasn't directed at Danny, but Sam, and both understood his concern all to well. Both 'that Foley boy' and 'that Fenton kid' were terms spoken with only the deepest scorn in the Manson Manor.

As Danny phased them through the walls of Sam's home, she answered, "Of course I'm sure. Believe me, this is a _business opportunity."_ She mimicked her Dad's voice. "They won't be back until they're sure they've sucked their victim dry. It'll be another week before they're back _at least."_ Danny got a perfect view of the disgust on her face when he set the two down and they stepped away.

A flash of light exchanged a white hair for black and green eyes for blue. All three were silent, listening. When there was no sound, they exchanged beaming looks. " _Finally_ ," Tucker sighed, stretching his arms over his head. "Ghosts gone, house empty, and no teachers breathing down our necks until Monday. It's about time we get the break we deserve."

When Sam stepped forward, cracking her knuckles, the boys' eyes were on her in an instant. "Ooo-kay, who's up for a three-way fistfest on the new gamestation I got last week?" She grinned, a promise of devastation in her eyes.

"You mean," Tucker began.

" _The_ new gamestation?" Danny continued.

"The one that reacts according to your _pulse?"_

"And super high-definition graphics?"

Sam crossed her arms, grin becoming sharkish. "On the flatscreen TV downstairs," she said.

And that was the end of that, for both boys grabbed her arms and dragged her down the stairs.

* * *

Danny was surprised when he woke up, sprawled on the floor in a pile of blankets. Loud snoring told him Tucker was a few feet behind him. Sam was even closer.

His face grew warm as he lifted his eyes. She was lying almost right beside him, still in the clothes from the night before. None of them had bothered to change before passing out on the floor. Her hair was a mess, her makeup was smudged, one smear of purple lipstick at the corner of her mouth and a matching stain on the side of her hand. Really, he thought to himself, she was a mess. A cute one.

Not that he could ever tell her that.

His eyes shot back to Sam's face as she stirred, body going tense with a stretch and jaws gaping in a yawn. Her eyes opened, still bleary with sleep, until they met Danny's and she shed all lingering traces of sleep. "Morning. What time is it?"

Danny shrugged. There were no windows to let light in, and the only clock in the room was on the television-currently turned off. "Honestly I don't even remember when we fell asleep."

It took a while for Tucker to wake, and even longer for all three of them to roll out of their makeshift beds. Sam retreated into the bathroom to get ready for the day, leaving the boys to get dressed on their own. When she reappeared, her hair was styled and her makeup washed off and redone. She tossed a brush to Danny, who caught it without a word. Tucker snorted at him. As someone who simply shaved his hair when it got too long for his liking, Tucker seemed to hold the usage of hairbrushes in disdain.

They were just cleaning up breakfast when Danny's breath rushed out of him, pulled back in a sharp gasp. His eyes caught the flicker of blue.

His friends' faces were grim when he turned to them. "And here I thought I was finally catching a break," Danny growled. Sam and Tucker squinted against the rings of pure light, regaining vision just in time to see Danny vanish through the ceiling.

They exchanged weary gazes before booking it to the front door, weapons in hand.

Danny hovered above the Manson household, glaring around the street. In the distance, he could see a green figure flitting away. Another breath left him just before something barreled into him from behind.

He toppled off the roof, falling a few feet before pulling himself out of gravity, just in time to see the offending specter racing away. Just as he heard the door crash ope below, Danny launched himself after it.

It was fast. Its tail flickered madly as it zigzagged across the sky to keep Danny from getting too close. Every time it was within reach, the ghost would suddenly change direction and leave his hands closing around empty air. Shouting in frustration, he let energy flare in his hands. When he thrust them forward, rays of green light flew towards the ghost.

It banked suddenly, shooting towards the ground with Danny in hot pursuit. He pulled off just above the street. Cars honked, heads and cellphones poking out of windows to catch a glimpse of Amity's most recent assailant. Danny's body streamlined, arms folded at his sides and legs fusing into a tail. The ghost had ceased its manic flight, instead hurtling straight towards the windows of a skyscraper. "Got you now," Phantom grunted, cold racing down his bones as he went intangible, knowing he'd catch up just before they phased through the wall. Only the ghost didn't-it shot up the building, leaving Danny to be flung by his own momentum through several rooms before he could stop himself.

He gritted his teeth and shot back outside, into the sunlight and the waiting arms of an enormous blue polar bear.

Danny reacted instantly, shoving himself back with a cry. The bears jaws snapped shut where his head had been only moments before. He spun in a circle, realizing with building dread that he was surrounded. Ghosts, both animal and humanoid had formed a ring around him.

Danny ducked to avoid a myriad of ghost rays, sending one of his own. The intended target jumped aside, only for the girl behind it to take the blow.

His hand gasped the thermos, sucking her inside before pain exploded in the back of his head. He cried out, toppling forward to have a fist nail him in the stomach, a ghost ray hitting him in the back at the same time. Miraculously, he kept his hold on the thermos. Danny panted as he twisted around, firing a blind shot from his free hand. It scattered the small crowd of ghosts, but not a single one was hit.

A glowing eagle came at him from the side, only to be dispatched by a bolt of energy. The thermos caught it as it fell, and Danny turned to block a punch. He hoisted his feet up, giving a shout as he kicked the ghost away and into another.

Another beam of blue light, and that was three ghosts down. Four more to go. But where...

He looked up, and muttered a curse. Then he turned and dove for the ground, the bear and its companions chasing after him. A hand grasped his tail and yanked him back, too fast for him to go intangible. Another ghost latched onto his arm, a third getting him in a choke hold. And the bear roared as it reared back, deadly-sharp claws glinting in the light.

Cold pulsed at his core. He closed his eyes, feeling the chill hurtle through his veins, to the very tips of his fingers before the blue energy burst free. Four ghosts were suddenly encased in ice, and Danny was still in their grasp. Gravity would not be denied any longer.

He plummeted, panic flaring in his chest. A blast of energy freed one arm, enough to grasp his thermos and suck the frozen spooks away. He turned in midair, catching his freshly-made bearsicle before it hit the ground. There, he drifted, breath coming in harsh pants as he tucked the thermos aside with trembling fingers.

He met up with his friends halfway back to Sam's. They spotted him from above, slipping around a corner to wait for him to pick them up. Tired as he was, he only said "I'll explain later," at Sam's worried inquiries.

He set them down and all but collapsed onto the couch. By the time he hit the cushions, his hair was black and his eyes were blue. The couch dipped as his friends joined him, flanking his sides comfortingly.

"You alright, man?" Tucker asked, tone light but tinged with worry.

Danny sighed. He reached for the remote, flipping on the TV. "Fine," he answered. "Just tired. I had to use a lot of energy. There were like _eight_ ghosts. I chased one halfway across the city before running into a freaking ambush!" He sat up, only for Sam to put her hand on his chest and push him back.

"Easy there, tiger," Sam warned. Her expression was stern. "You said there was an ambush?"

Tucker leaned forward. "So what did they want?"

The blue eyes boy shrugged in defeat. "Heck if I know. To beat me up? They weren't ghosts I recognized, but I guess that's not surprising. I've kicked enough spectral butt to last a lifetime, there's no way I'd remember all of them."

As he spoke, Tucker began fiddling with the remote. Channel after channel flickered on the screen while Sam went on, "So they want revenge? It's strange that they're all so... organized."

"Maybe they're finally figuring out it takes more than one to beat me." Danny gave a breathy laugh, though Sam's expression didn't suggest she agreed.

"I dunno," she wandered, "They've never done this before. Whenever the smaller ghosts get together, there's someone else behind it. Like Skulker with his 'pets' last night."

Danny huffed. "Maybe," he conceded.

Whatever he was going to say next was interrupted by an "Uh, guys," from Tucker. They glanced at him, and he only pointed to the screen in response.

He'd landed on a news channel. A dark haired woman was in front of the camera, standing in front of the local hardware store. "...stolen from the store," she was saying. "We're not sure if this was an intentional attack or a mass haunting. Across town, another group raided the new wing being built in the mall, which has been under construction for several weeks. Finally, it has been reported that Danny Phantom was dealing with a third group, explaining why he was absent at both of the other scenes. Whether or not these attacks are tied is currently unknown." She went on for a while longer before directing the show to the traffic report.

Danny's hands clenched into fists. "So that was it," he growled. "They were distracting me. And I _fell_ for it!"

"In order to rob a hardware store and a construction site?" Tucker tapped his fingers on his knee, staring intently at the television screen. "What would ghosts want with that crap?"

Sam had placed a hand on Danny's shoulder, lost in her own thoughts as her friend struggled to calm himself down. Then she shook her head. "I can't think of anything. And I doubt they just wanted to cause some general terror."

Danny stood, face set in determination. "Well I'm going to figure out what the hell is going on." Before he could turn to Phantom again, both Sam and Tucker grabbed his wrists.

"Oooh no," Sam warned, shaking her head.

"You've got an English report due," Tucker said. "And I'd bet anything you haven't even started."

Danny gave a soft groan and let his friends drag him away.

* * *

 **Reread the first chapter of 'Unknown Demense" and realized how cruddy it was. This is the new and improved version, written at 1:40 AM. I have to wake up in four hours.**

 **Anyway, reviews are desperately appreciated. Critique is always welcome. Tips are a godsend. Please, tell me what you think!**


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